Differential signaling has become increasingly used for providing high-speed analog circuit techniques in order to effect higher bandwidth for digital data transfers and signaling that are also simple and cost effective. The use of differential signaling has proven beneficial in a number of different applications, including transmitting video digital signals to display devices, such as display monitors or screens.
Among the various differential signaling technologies utilized today in differential signaling, two examples include low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) and transition minimized differential signaling (TMDS). Each of these types of differential signaling technologies has inherent advantages. In order to be able to utilize the advantages inherent with each type of signaling technology, it is known to utilize differential signaling circuits operable in two or more modes of operation, each mode employing a different signaling technology. For example, it is known to utilize multimode differential output drivers operable to switch between LVDS and TMDS technologies. Attendant with each of these technologies, however, the output configurations and voltage levels are different. For example, LVDS may utilize a low voltage such as 1.8 volts, whereas TMDS typically utilizes a higher voltage supply such as 3.3 volts. As an example of a multimode output driver, FIG. 1 illustrates a dual mode differential signaling circuit 100 that is operable to provide either LVDS or TMDS signaling. The circuit 100 includes a pair of current steering transistors 102, 104, which are labeled MN1 and MN2. These transistors respectively receive input signals 106, 108 labeled as ID+ and ID−. In one embodiment, the input signals 106 and 108 are received from any suitable logic (not shown) such as core logic (e.g., a CPU or other processing entity associated with a system to which circuit 100 is a part) and together represent data for transmission. As used herein, logic may be, for example, any suitable combination of hardware and/or hardware and software. For example, logic may include any combination of processors, memory, engines, programmable and non-programmable hardware, integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signaling processors (DSPs), and discrete circuit elements. The combination of the current steering transistors 102, 104 and a current source 110 effects differential signaling from a pair of outputs 112, 114 respectively connected to the current steering transistors 102 and 104.
When the circuit 100 is operated in an LVDS mode, under the control of some mode control 116, for example, a pair of current sources 118, 120 are coupled to the outputs 112 and 114, respectively, via a pair of switches 122, 124. This configuration is otherwise known as a current mode configuration where the constant current sources 118 and 120 drive current at the outputs 112 and 114. It is also noted that when operating in an LVDS mode, a termination resistor 130 is connected across the output contacts 112 and 114, the termination resistor 130 typically being connected across the lines connected to outputs 112 and 114 at a receiver (not shown). For purposes of illustration only, switches 126 and 128 indicate that the termination resistor 130 is only temporal, only being connected during LVDS modes.
For TMDS mode operation, an open drain configuration is effected to perform this type of signaling. Accordingly, a control, such as mode control 116, is utilized to open the switches 122 and 124, thereby ensuring that an internal pull-up structure to internal voltage source VDD is not coupled to the outputs 112 and 114. Moreover, a higher voltage, which is typical for TMDS, is connected to the outputs 112 and 114. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 as an additional voltage source 132, which may be 3.3 volts for this example. The voltage source 132 is connected to the outputs 112 and 114 via pull-up resistors 134 and 136 at a receiver (not shown). Also, for illustration purposes only, the voltage source 132 and pull-up resistors 134 and 136 are connected to the outputs 112 and 114 by switches 138 and 140 to indicate that the connections are temporal only during TMDS mode.
If the circuit of FIG. 1 is implemented within an integrated circuit, such as in ASICs including telecommunication chips, field programmable gate arrays, and other devices having differential output drivers, it is desirable in some applications to employ a lower voltage for the internal voltage source VDD. For example, a voltage level of 1.8 volts is typical for some integrated circuits. With a dual mode differential output driver such as the circuit of FIG. 1, when particular types of switching devices are utilized for switches 122 and 124 with a low voltage supply for VDD, certain modes of operation become problematic. For example, if NMOS transistors are utilized for switches 122 and 124 with a 1.8 voltage supply for VDD, operation of the circuit 100 in LVDS mode becomes inoperable. Specifically, the switches 122 and 124 turn off, thus the current sources 118 and 120, which are required for operation in LVDS mode, are not connected to the outputs 112 and 114. This is caused by a low voltage occurring between the gate and source of the NMOS devices resulting in no current flow from the current sources 118 and 120 to the outputs 112 and 114 and, thus, the termination resistor 130. Accordingly, no output voltage swing results and proper signaling does not occur.
In another example, if a PMOS transistor is utilized for switches 122 and 124 with a low voltage supply VDD of 1.8 volts during a TMDS mode, the circuit becomes inoperable for this type of signaling. Specifically, a reverse leakage current occurs from the external higher voltage source 132 (i.e., 3.3 volts) to the internal VDD supply of 1.8 volts because the switches 122 and 124, which are PMOS devices in this example, turn on due to a forward biasing of the diodes of the PMOS devices. Moreover, a current path arises from the drains of these PMOS devices to their substrate or bulk, which results in high leakage current and undesirable heating of the chip in which the circuit is located.
Accordingly, in conventional circuits such as the circuit of FIG. 1, a solution to the above problems has been to utilize an additional high voltage supply within the chip in order to implement TMDS (with a PMOS device as the switch), resulting in design restrictions and/or higher chip cost because of an additional voltage supply. An alternative conventional solution also has included using an on-chip voltage regulator to generate the necessary high voltage from the low voltage source. This generated high voltage then is used to bias switches 122 and 124, when implemented with PMOS devices, during the TMDS mode of circuit 100. Again, however, this solution utilizes more chip area within the integrated circuit and increases power consumption due to the use of an on-chip voltage regulator.